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Sainte-Suzanne
Sainte-Suzanne (Haitian Creole: Sent Sizàn) is a municipality located in Haiti's Northeastern Department. It is part of the Trou-du-Nord Arrondissement. . Sainte-Suzanne, NE, Haiti]] About Nicknamed the "Garden City", Sainte-Suzanne spreads over an area of 128km. Cotelette, Blanc, Sarazin, Mocha-Nine, Foulon, and Fond-Bleu are its six communal sections. The Suzannians, Suzanns, Suzannes, or the Suzannese, estimated around 30,000 inhabitants, according to the interviewees are very hospitable people who believe that agriculture remains the basis of economic and social development of the area. ]] History At the time of the colony and the American occupation, the commune of Sainte-Suzanne had served as a zone of resistance for the slaves during the French occupation and Cacos during the American occupation. Historically, the commune of Sainte-Suzanne was recognized as a district of Trou-du-Nord, but thanks to the efforts of the late memory, Septimus Jean-François, the area was granted municipal status in 1881. Geography Sainte-Suzanne is located at 19° 35' 0" N, 72° 5' 0" W. According to the IHSI, this commune has a total land area of 127.91 square kilometers (49.39 square miles), of which 69.38 km² (53%) is rural, 57.45 km² (45%) is suburban, and 2.34 km² (2%) is urban. It is bordered by the Northern Department town of Limonade to the north, the city of Trou-du-Nord to the northeast, the city of Vallières to the southeast, and the Northern Department communes of Ranquitte, Bahon, and Grande-Rivière du Nord to the south and west. It is an interior commune, its dominant relief is the mountains and its climate is fresh. Administratively, it is divided into six Communal Sections and a district (Dupity included in the Fond-Bleu section). Fond-Bleu, although far from the town center, is the most populated communal section, with nearly a third of the population. From an orographic point of view, the region of Sainte-Suzanne is an extension of the catchment area of Vallières, coming out of Grosse-Roche via Fond Bleu and Mocaneuf. Part of this watershed extends to Limonade and feeds the river Parois in rainwater. For an area of 0.18 km2 the town center's density was 10,562 inhabitants / km2. Demographics Neighborhoods Climate The Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development (MARNDR) has a small artisanal rain gauge installed on the Benn habitation of in Sarazin, raised between 400 and 500 m (1,200 to 1,500 feet) altitude used to record annual rainfall in the area. Meanwhile, there is no rain gauge in Dupity district, located 600 m (200 feet) higher. However, from the agro-ecological point of view, this locality seems quite different from the others. Following our observations on the ground, we discover that the Commune Sainte-Suzanne as a whole is semi-humid considering the climate of the four communal sections close to the Town Center (Foulon, Bois-Blanc, Cotelette and Sarazin) apparently dry and that of the communities close to Dupity (Mocaneuf and Fond Bleu) very wet. In general, rainfall varies from year to year, which prevents farmers from understanding the seasonal issues. Source: LAC of Sainte-Suzanne According to some elderly people invited to the meetings, in time, around the 60s, the commune was wetter especially from September to March with very little heat from May to August, but given the current state of mountain peaks, today's situation is totally different. The following table presents the inter-monthly variations of rainfall and temperature in the Commune of Sainte-Suzanne. '' Inter-monthly variations in rainfall and temperature '' Source: LAC of Sainte-Suzanne We find in all of the region of Sainte-Suzanne, two rainy seasons and two dry seasons, the rainy seasons going from November to December and from April to June, while the dry seasons extend from January to March and from July to October. The area, despite its degradation, is very cool and pleasant with an annual average temperature oscillating around 27°C (81°F). It combines the favorable climatic conditions for the development of crops such as coffee and lends itself to fruit growing, both on the hills and in the highlands. Thanks to the climate, the people of the four communal sections (1st Foulon, 2nd Bois Blanc, 3rd Cotelette and 4th Sarazin) near the town center are vegetable crops and cultivate the yam, beans while in Mocaneuf and Fond Bleu on Dupity, farmers maintain cassava, potatoes and beans. Natural Resources Soils Soils of the Commune Sainte-Suzanne are, in general, peculiar to arboreal agriculture. They come from quartzite diorites. On the slopes, the soils encountered are mainly clay or silt and rarely the limestone found at the feet. In the town center and in the neighboring communal sections, the soils have a natural drainage, which facilitates their leaching and therefore makes them not very fertile. By cons, approaching Dupity, we realize that the natural drainage is not quite obvious and there are even in some places stagnations of water, especially on the road. According to some members of the population, the land for years would have lost its agricultural potential since the peasants until now: Continue cutting down trees for coal production especially at Dupity; Use lump-sum and contradictory farming practices to logics of soil conservation, despite the repeated advice of the MARNDR executives; Farmers, so to speak, refuse to make vegetable strips, they do not understand the need, for example, to use slopes on a contour; Continue to practice burning (slash-and-burn agriculture), they do not also want to make straw banisters on the pretext that they tolerate insects that harm crops; In fact, by observing the mountains, one notes that they have undergone a strong anthropic action which leads to the loss of the resources of soil, transported in the course of the day by the rivers which cross the region, the disappearance of the coffee growing in a word, the most profound rhexistasia. Water The hydrographic network of the Commune of Sainte-Suzanne although very imposing is not used by the community. Almost all communal sections are crossed by rivers with more or less regular flow. Sudden floods in some areas take lives and property as they pass, all year long, except in February and March coinciding with the drought period. The table below provides information on the water potential of the area. '' Water Potentials of the Commune of Sainte-Suzanne '' Source: Interviews with interviewees and presentations by Pierre Israël of MARNDR Throughout the Commune, river water is used for various purposes ranging from domestic services (beverage, laundry, food, garbage disposal, human defecation) to construction activities to finish with the needs of agriculture and livestock (i.e. breeding and watering animals). All rivers discharge their waters in the North. The sources, according to what the interviewees reported, are also very numerous. More than twenty have been enumerated for the whole area. Other water points such as ponds, in all communal sections, are also identified, but these over the years have experienced sedimentation following erosion and in the vast majority of cases people without technical knowledge have made interventions on their banks to enlarge them. Basins The Commune Sainte-Suzanne is home to nearly four watersheds that originate in its various communal sections and flow into the Northern Department. This explains why, even when there is no rain in the neighboring lands of the Great North River or from Parois River, in Limonade, we can observe that these waters are muddy and tumultuous, this results from the vastness of their catchment basins that start in the heights of Sainte-Suzanne. Thus, speaking of watersheds, we count in the zone: 1._ The watershed connecting Bois Blanc and Cotelette which flows into the Caracol stream ( Caracol poisson ) on the side of the Great North River 2. The watershed linking Foulon and Sarazin by the Monts Sarazin and Lissé which flows to Bois de l'Anse de Limonade ; 3._ Watershed Mokaneuf with the river Picot which flows to Bahon ; 4._ The watershed of Dupity leaves Vallières and embraces the habitation of Roqué as well as part of Ranquitte, flows into the Marie-Anne River before flowing to Bahon. Considering for example, the banks of the rivers, in the time they were well wooded, according to what some leaders of the zone reported. Today, this is no longer the case and during floods, the banks are easily washed away causing floods and losses of livestock or crops. In the different watersheds that were home to coffee growing, fruit trees (mangos, mangifera indica), softwoods and others, farmers intervened and destroyed the balance between soil, water and forest. On the slopes of the bare mountains, nothing is spared, for example the sucrin, which served as a shade machine for the coffee, was savagely attacked for the production of charcoal, while the pine is used for the manufacture of planks. The peasants destroy the ligneous capital, without realizing the dangers to which they expose themselves and without thinking of a replacement strategy. Officials of Public Institutions like that of the MARNDR made a lot of effort to convince people to stop doing so. These tips are followed by a few and quipped by others. The worst, according to his statement, the people who produce charcoal are the most recalcitrant and no longer want to participate in reforestation programs. The religious and political leaders have, in this sense, provided appreciable help in raising awareness of the population in relation to deforestation, but we have not yet felt the results which must bring about a change of mentality, through good governance to environmental protection and sustainable development. The area finally has great hydroelectric and agricultural potential, taking into account the hydro-electric dam between Sainte-Suzanne and the communal section of Caracol (Caracol banana) in the North which produces electricity to supply the communities of Limonade, Grand-Pré, Grande-Rivière-du-Nord, and Cap-Haïtien etc., while the watershed of the The most important water supplying it is at Bois Blanc, therefore, in Sainte-Suzanne, which does not benefit from this exploitation. In Mokaneuf, there is a system that can be installed thanks to the rivers Daran, a system on the Lasset habitation and another on the Duclos habitation thanks to Saint-Martin in Foulon. '' Water Resources the Commune from Sainte-Suzanne '' Source: Interviews with local residents and presentations by Pierre Isra Economy In addition to agriculture, small businesses constitute the essential economic activities of the inhabitants of Sainte-Suzanne. Trade in all countries is practiced by men as well as women. The crafts, the salaried work also make live a part of the population. Many families rely on the subsidies sent from Port-au-Prince or the Dominican Republic where reside one or more of theirs. We must not neglect the contribution of games of chance, real economic activities especially for men, such as borlette and cockfighting. Agriculture Rainfed agriculture is dominated by food crops, representing the first major economic activity in Sainte-Suzanne. The dominant crops grown throughout the year are: yam, cassava, sugar cane and beans. Formerly the economy of Sainte-Suzanne was based solely on its intensive coffee production. However, falling prices on the international market, aging plantations, difficult control of bark beetles have contributed greatly to the decline of this export commodity. The lack of appropriate technology and environmental degradation have further accelerated the process of the disappearance of the large coffee plantations in the commune in favor of erosive crops such as peanuts, cassava, and beans on slopes exceeding 40%. These non-technical choices of the farmers are due to the lack of supervision of the MARNDR agents who are practically deprived of all the means which would enable them to offer quality services to the residents. Fortunately, this commune still has the intensive production of fruit trees, which prove to be a good contribution for growers. Livestock The difficulties in breeding are not different from those in agriculture, livestock consisting mainly of cattle, goats, pigs and chickens allow farmers to escape situations of extreme emergencies. Animals such as horses, donkeys and very rare mules are mostly used for field work, domestic needs and long trips. To be much more operational, the MARNDR had recently trained planters in each Communal Section to play the role of veterinary auxiliaries or GSB (Gwoupman Sante Bet). The services they render to the community are certainly not negligible, ensuring the treatment of sick animals, difficult parturition etc. Thus to vaccinate an ox, one pays 10 Gdes and for a pig 5 Gdes. These auxiliaries are not officials of the MARNDR, but they have the possibility to buy drugs at a subsidized price, which allow them to generate a profit margin. Animals; beef, goats and pigs, in order of importance are generally sold at the markets of Lasset (Mokaneuf), Savane Church (Cotelette), Bois de l'Anse (Limonade) and Bahon. Trade Farmers are integrated into markets through the marketing channels dominated by "madan Sara". Despite the remoteness of these important markets (Bahon, Trou-du-Nord, Cap-Haïtien, etc.) and very rare or non-existent car links between them and the town of Sainte-Suzanne, the flow of food products and their derivatives (cereals, cassava, cane syrup) that will sell there is impressive. Throughout the commune, there are no physical structures to shelter the tradesmen. The sale of products deposited on the ground, is done under palisade arbours and brings together people from Bahon, Grosse-Roche and various communal sections. The following table provides information on the market schedule for the Commune. '' Market Days Across the Commune from Sainte-Suzanne '' Throughout the commune, there are no small shops, as is the case in some other regions of the country. At the Town Center, there are barely 6. The charcoal and planks produced in the various communal sections are quickly sold to Mokaneuf, which has become a longstanding meeting point for the sale of these products. If the flow of agricultural commodities to neighboring markets (Trou-du-Nord, Cap-Haïtien) is not very strong, except for coal and planks, that of the products purchased is considerable and very diversified. It consists mainly of rice, corn, spaghetti, oil, wheat flour, fuel and basic necessities. According to the people interviewed, the flow of products purchased in the surrounding areas far exceeds that of purchases. We can therefore get an idea of this economy that is gradually becoming poorer not only in terms of capital or funds, but also by the loss of its ecosystems, and therefore its biodiversity through rhexistasia. The contribution of para-agricultural activities to the economy, such as handicrafts by making straw chairs, baskets, and vans is negligible. For economic and financial infrastructures, the commune of Sainte Suzanne has a credit union. Trade and agriculture are considered as the main economic activities of the municipality of Sainte Suzanne. Nine grocery stores, a hair salon and a photography studio have been listed in the municipality. , Haiti]] Subsistence farming is the main occupation practiced by the people of Sainte-Susanne. Lime, coffer and orange trees are grown. To generate income, live stock is reared by some of the farmers in Saint Suzanne. Relilgion Many of the people living in Sainte Suzanne are Catholics and practice Voodoo. Protestants also live there but are a minority. Infrastructure All public institutions are not represented in Sainte-Suzanne, we only find Agriculture, public health, Justice, National Archives, Finance and the town hall who are able to provide a variety of services, but very limited and limited to the population. With few exceptions, these institutions do not even have a flag to identify them. EXCEPT the town hall has a very attractive, standards-compliant facility built by UNCDF between 2007 and 2008. This Administrative Complex also houses the DGI and the National Archives. The other services do not have premises, as is the case of justice, or work in environments that are not suitable for work, such is the case of the public health. Justice, for example, works in the local police station that has not been assigned police since the departure of former President Aristide. All the institutions present face the same constraints of premises or insignificant staff etc. Given these constraints, decisions are not necessarily respected because of the absence of police officers. Transportation Cap-Haïtien Airport is located at a distance of 20 km and is the closest airport to access. Port-au-Prince, the main international airport in Haiti is located approximately at a distance of 235 km from Sainte Suzanne. The poor condition of the roads is counted as one of the limiting factors in the development of the Commune of Sainte-Suzanne. On the road leading to the Town Center, from Trou-du-Nord being, one finds hardly 1,5 Km concrete roads while the rest near 9 Km is still in beaten earth. In the town center, there are only 400 meters of concrete streets and compared to neighboring municipalities, we realize that Sainte-Suzanne is totally isolated. The impact of poor road infrastructure is felt at all levels of communal life, be it for agriculture, trade, health, education. First on the agricultural level, production areas remain isolated compared to the main sales centers like Trou-du-Nord, Limonade, Bahon, Grande-Rivière du Nord and Cap-Haïtien, etc. Then to that of health, since the pregnant women take too much time to reach the dispensaries of the Center Bourg or Dupity to find care and sometimes, conditions worsen when it comes to premature deliveries or bad presentation of the baby, that the life of the mother and the child are in real danger and that the knowledge of a matron is then insufficient and that we must quickly resort to more enlightened care. These difficulties in accessing health centers contribute significantly to the current rate of infant and maternal mortality, as we explained earlier. Regarding the maintenance of the tracks, it is the associative sector including the local elected officials who take this charge with the support of some international organizations like CECI, PAM etc. Also, there is no regular car transport service to the Communal Sections in the zone, except the two (2) trucks carrying the charcoal connecting Dupity to Cap-Haïtien come here two (2) to three (3) times per week. On the other hand, there is the vehicle of the parish priest of the Catholic Church, the Reverend Father Enos Brunot, who runs through the area until Dupity. There is also, the motorcycle transportation system that connects trou-du-Nord and Sainte-Suzanne, the price of this transport revolves around Gdes 100. Education The Sainte-Suzanne educational sector is also facing serious problems. One can count among others: •The remoteness of educational centers, which forces students to walk tens of kilometers of footpath every day in search of the bread of instruction •The dilapidated condition of these centers with hardwood floors, undulating sheets and no latrines also do not favor the learning of students already hungry and hopeless to find something back home. In the rainy season, some schools can not function, given the physical condition of the premises The following table provides information on the distribution of primary schools across the Commune of Sainte-Suzanne. '' Distribution of Schools Across the Commune of Sainte-Suzanne. '' Source: Based on information from a former Mayor, teacher at Ste-Suzanne High School Health In the Commune of Sainte-Suzanne, there are three dispensaries; one at Dupity and two in the Town Center- one under the rule of the MSPP and the other administered by the Sisters of Saint Therese. The MSPP Dispensary has a very small and minimal capacity consisting of a reception room, a consultation room and a small room reserved for the administration. According to its capacity of reception, this dispensary receives on average, twenty to twenty-five patients per day. As for the staff, it is largely insignificant and is below accepted standards. It is composed of: a Physician, a Nurse, two auxiliaries, three Assistant Supervisors, ten Health Agents and a Technologist. This clinic provides sanitary coverage through the four sections of Foulon, Bois Blanc, Cotelette and Sarazin, while that of Dupity deals with Mokaneuf and Fond Bleu. At the time of the rains the access to the various Communal Sections being difficult, this reduces of this the scope of the work of the Technicians of the health Public. Utilities Access to drinking water Regarding water availability, the town of Sainte Suzanne has nine rivers, and springs, lagoons and public fountains with three pumps. Commune Sainte-Suzanne benefits from a network of electrification. It would like to benefit from the current of the Hydroelectric power plant in nearby Caracol, which is right near the commune, and whose waters turning the turbines come largely from its watersheds. Security One of the salient problems of justice remains the absence of police officers acting as a coercive force, as justice without the police is powerless to uphold decisions and uphold the rule of law. In addition, the peace court housed in a rented house was ransacked by a fire, for the moment, it is housed in the local police station that has not experienced any police presence since the departure of the ex-President Aristide. According to the words of the deputy judge of Sainte-Suzanne, Mr. Arinks Manigat, the absence of police has a lot of repercussions on justice in Sainte-Suzanne because often enough offenders who come to steal during the day or at night, have always had time to escape as the community can not afford to trap them. With regard to the staff, this is another major problem of the Commune Sainte-Suzanne, which benefits only from the presence of five justices of the peace, including two at the Town Center, to whom the justice affairs of the Communal Sections of Foulon, Bois Blanc, Cotelette and Sarazin and three in Dupity who deal with the cases of Mocaneuf and Fond Bleu. The question of materials is also acute in this sector. The following table presents the situation of the justice sector in Sainte-Suzanne. ' ''Justice Sector Situation Across the Commune of Sainte-Suzanne ' ''Source: The deputy judge of Center borough According to the deputy judge of the Town Center questioned on the justice issue, it reveals that the offenses and the crimes, in fact very frequent in the communal sections of Foulon and Bois-Blanc, are referred to the Government Commissioner in Fort-Liberté and to this level they still face other difficulties. Culture In general, households in Sainte-Suzanne are made up of nuclear families. Single-parent families are rare. Fathers engaged mainly in agricultural activities have a heavy responsibility to bring money into the household, while women do the household chores. Juvenile delinquency is a bit rare; families are generally worried about the education of their children and in many cases they do not have the opportunity to send them to Port-au-Prince, Cap-Haïtien or even closer to home in Trou-du-Nord. Religion With regard to religion, the area of Sainte-Suzanne includes many more Catholics than Protestants. In almost all communal sections and in the Town Center, there are chapels or temples. These two major religious trends, intervene in many sectors of everyday life, whether through evangelization, education, health, coaching the poor and mutual aid. For example, at the Town Center, there is the congregation of the "Little Sisters of Saint-Therese of the Child Jesus " which provides a much appreciated help in public health, as well as the Dupity Health Center, administered by the Reverend Father Enos Brunot. In almost all Communal Sections, there are also vodouisants very rarely appearing and hougans who are consulted quite often about traditional medicine. '' Harvest festival dates through the Commune of Sainte-Suzanne. '' Source: Interviews with residents Organizations Several NGOs intervene in some areas in Sainte-Suzanne. This is particularly the case of IRATAM, CECI, CARITAS DIOCESAINE, FAO, UNCDF, WFP, WHO and SDSH. These organizations offer a lot of services and frameworks to the population that derives satisfaction. The following table presents the NGOs of Sainte-Suzanne and the domains in which they intervene. Non-Governmental Organizations in Sainte-Suzanne Sources: Combined Communication The Telecom office set up a telephone service. They worked in phases of this activity (acquisition of premises, installation of equipment). In time, Teleco existed in Sainte-Suzanne, but since the departure of former President Aristide, the power station was closed and the materials were taken to Cap-Haïtien. Was not it the intervention of the DIGICEL, who set up a relay in Foulon, telecommunication inside the commune would be impossible, as is apparently the case in some high mountain areas like Mokaneuf and Fond-Bleu where, you have to walk from top to bottom to rarely find signals. The town of Sainte Suzanne has no post office, no radio station, no newspaper / magazine, no television station. Leisure This Commune lacks major leisure activities. Young boys rarely play football, while girls play folk dances. In the evening some members of the population find their distractions in sessions of films projected at 5 Gdes per person. During 2008, the Town Center, in particular the CCS, benefited from CECI, the construction of a recreation room that is a joy for young people who do not have only the parish hall of the Catholic Church. for possible programs at the end of the year, but another structure that can accommodate them without any constraints. As for the mature men, they practice gaguère that allow them to earn a little money in betting during the distraction. Speaking of public places, throughout the commune, only the Town Center has such a structure and an undeveloped football (soccer) pitch that belongs to a notable of the area who can at any time requisition his property The town has an important historical past since from the time of the colony until the periods of the American occupation, it was considered as one of the most important zones of resistance. There are, in addition to two forts, colonial, historical and other vestiges in nearly twenty localities. Natural sites such as falls, for example, have also been inventoried. It should be noted that the town of Sainte-Suzanne leaves some visitors perplexed as to the diversity of the color of the earth (pink, yellow, white etc.) observed in various parts of the town. Tourism The Commune of Sainte-Suzanne naturally has a tourist attraction, which is limited by the lack of information and research on this subject in the area and the question of inaccessibility which arises with acuity in certain nooks and crannies of the communal sections. To believe those views, there is the 1 st Section Foulon colonial hovels Gomez and stones with Indian scriptures to Gervé-era Indians who inhabited the island of Hispaniola, so does even from Fort Capois to Mokaneuf, from the fall of Babichon to Sarazin. This sector unfortunately has not yet played its role in the economic recovery of the area. The commune of Sainte-Suzanne remains practically an enclave area despite its undeniable tourist riches: the site of Gomèz Foulon, exceptional panoramic views from Cotelette, Morne Coco Loco, dismal of Haiti, the remains of the old colonial houses , the waterfalls. So many inaccessible regions that it would be enough to open to the curiosity of local and foreign tourists to generate capital for the benefit of the Commune. Port-au-Prince the capital of Haiti is located at a distance of 235km from this place. There are a number of places for sightseeing including Roche Platte Church, Juchereau Church, River Sarazin, the Ravine Jean Marie etc. Many beautiful mountains surround Sainte-Suzanne. https://sainte-suzanneht.blogspot.com/p/presetation-de-sainte-suzanne-haiti.html ssz5.png|Sainte-Suzanne aerial ssz7.jpg|Sainte-Suzanne, Haiti ssz9.png|Espace de Concertation - Sainte-Suzanne, Haiti ssz10.jpg|Children; Sainte-Suzanne, Haiti SUZANN01.jpg|Ste-Suzanne, NE References Sainte-Suzanne, Nord-Est, Haiti http:sainte-suzanneht.blogspot.com/p/presetation-de-sainte-suzanne-haiti.html?m=1 Michael Vedrine Category:Nord-Est, Haiti Category:Trou-du-nord arrondissement Category:Trou-du-Nord Category:Trou-du-Nord Arrondissement Category:Route Departmentale 63 Category:Communes with 6 neighbors Category:Agriculture production Category:Craft production Category:Livestock production Category:Yam production Category:Cassava production Category:Sugarcane production Category:Bean production Category:Coffee production Category:Lime production Category:Orange production